Wildlife Spotting

Hannah shows you how to spot wildlife characters from CBeebies Garden Tales in your own garden or local park. Let’s take a look at the animals you may find season by season.

Spring is one of the most magical seasons. At the start of the year many wildlife characters are beginning to wake up from the winter months and are very busy preparing to have babies of their own. 

Spring is the best season to spot Freya and her friends, as this is when they will be most active. Froglets love to explore their surroundings and will travel quite far from the pond on their adventures. All froglets start off as tadpoles, which over time turn into frogs. So if you see any tadpoles in a pond you know that one day they will turn into frogs. Froglets love anywhere that is damp and cosy so always have a look around old log piles, compost heaps and even under garden sheds.

Sid the Snail is kind, and a little bit shy, but he has some amazing senses. He can’t hear so uses his sense of smell to find food and as he moves along leaves a trail of slime behind him. This slime actually helps protect Sid’s body as he moves through the garden. He will mainly come out at night but have a look out for his silvery slime trails on the ground, in the bushes or near a wood pile or garden shed.

Santiago the Smooth Newt is by far the best dancer in the garden and he loves to show off his moves in the pond or near a woodpile. Spring is the season you are most likely to see Santiago and his friends, but they can be different colours with some looking grey and some looking brown. They will also have yellow or orange tummy’s with black spots. Be sure to keep a look out by the pond for him or go exploring by the woodpile.

Summer time is when things really start to heat up in the garden. All of our animals are very busy with their babies and are taking full advantage of all of the food summer has to offer. But what are we most likely to see in the garden during summer?

Penny the Peacock Butterfly is one of the most beautiful butterflies in the garden. She has had a long journey turning into a butterfly from a caterpillar, but when she does she is a total adventurer. If you want to spot Penny when she is a caterpillar have a look around nettle patches, but be careful not to sting yourself. Unlike us caterpillars don’t feel the nettles sting and in fact they love to eat the nettles. And if you want to see Penny as a butterfly have a look around summer flowers as she is sure to not be far away.

Summer is the best season to spot Casey the Badger. Badgers usually only come out at night but young badgers like Casey love exploring their surroundings and are quite the adventurers with the long summer evenings. Casey and his family love to live in woodland but they will also live in parks and gardens. Look out for freshly dug ground in your garden or local park, as that might have been Casey foraging for food.

Wilbur the Earthworm is always wanting to help wherever he goes, not only does he help his best friend Sid the snail, but he helps other animals, plants and the soil. He is an all round top friend. He lives underground but if you want to spot him have a look in a compost heap, near a wood pile or underneath some old pots. Wilbur loves anywhere damp and cosy.

As the days begin to get shorter and the air becomes colder our animal characters start to get ready for winter. Autumn is the season when many animals stock up on food and begin to build winter dens. This means there will be lots of activity in the garden or local park, so let's see who we can spot.

Grace the Great Tit has a yellow tummy and black head. Grace is always busy, you will see her all year round feeding from the bird feeders. In the autumn she eats even more from the feeders to put on weight for the winter months. So always to give Grace and other birds in the garden a little extra bird seed in the autumn.

Harry and Henry the hedgehogs only come out at night and will be extra busy in autumn. This is the season when they look for a safe cosy place to sleep until next spring, and being a bit grumpy, this has to be just right. Signs to look out for are their tracks and trails as well as small tunnels in the bushes, but also their poo. If you can’t find any signs don’t you worry. Autumn is the best season to put a hedgehog hotel in your garden or a nice pile of old leaves and Harry and Henry may decide to come sleep there for the winter.

Fred the Pill Millipede is quite the tap dancer with all of his feet. And autumn is an excellent time to see him dance his moves. Fred loves to eat old wood and leaves with compost heaps, old log piles and the garden shed being some of his favourite places to hang out. He will mostly tap dance at night but if you have a little look at some of his favourite spots you are bound to see him and his friends.

Winter is the coldest season of them all and with lots of our animal characters tucked away somewhere warm asleep who is left to spot in the garden or local park? Well, quite surprisingly despite the cold, winter is still a very busy season for our animal characters. Let’s take a look.

Jago the Robin has lots of personality and he will sing right through the winter months when other birds are resting. He has bright red tummy feathers and a very loud song and will be seen all around the garden or local park. During winter be sure to leave some old fruit out in the garden if you can as Jago will love this and he needs to keep his energy up for all of his singing.

Betty the House Mouse is busy all year round, in fact, she never stops. She is a total super mum raising her three mouse babies who are always wanting attention. When the months get colder you have a better chance of spotting Betty in or around the garden shed as she will like to be somewhere warm for the winter. So if you have a look and hear a fast scuttle or spot a little tail, you can be pretty sure that’s Betty.

Despite the cold winter is a very busy time for Flint and Hazel. They are pretty much always on the go and are also very clever. Flint and Hazel would have made a food store of tasty nuts and seeds during autumn so they will have lots of food during winter. They only live in special woodland now but if you are lucky to go to one of these special woodland you may see Flint and Hazel on the ground digging up their tasty nuts to eat.